Monday, October 3, 2011

Market inspired recipes: Carrot Cake & side dish

Glazed Carrot Cake2 cups flour2 teaspoons baking soda2 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon salt3 eggs3/4 cup vegetable oil3/4 cup buttermilk2 cups sugar2 teaspoons vanilla extract1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained2 cups grated carrots (approximately 5 large carrots)3 1/2 ounces flaked coconut1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecansStart off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Then grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan. Set aside.Combine the first 4 ingredients, the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Sift these the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Then in a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the eggs, add in the vegetable oil, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla. Mix well. Then add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Mix on Medium unit barely blended. Lastly add the pineapple, carrots, coconut and nuts. Mix on low for 1-2 minutes. Before I pour out the batter into the prepared pan I use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are blended fully. Pour the mixed batter into the prepared pan. Place in the oven for 50-55 minutes, checking it often to make sure that it does not over cook. I use a toothpick or butter knife and insert it until it comes out clean, that is how I know it is baked to perfection.About 10-15 minutes before the cake is done baking, start working on the glaze for the cake.Glaze1/2 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 cup buttermilk1/4 cup butter1 teaspoon corn syrup1/2 teaspoon vanilla extractIn a small sauce pan combine the sugar, buttermilk, butter and corn syrup. Cooking over low heat, stirring constantly bring to a boil. Then remove from the heat and add in the vanilla.Once cake is done and remove from oven, pour the warm glaze over the hot cake. Let the glaze absorb and the cake cool completely.Then to top it off, I decided to add a cream cheese frosting to make this cake even more delicious than it already was. I used my favorite cream cheese recipe which is below.Cream Cheese Frosting8 ounces cream cheese, softened1/2 cup butter, softened16 ounces confectioners sugar, sifted1 teaspoon vanilla extractIn a stand mixer combine cream cheese, butter, sugar. Mix at high speed for 5-6 minutes. The longer you mix frosting, the smoother the texture will be. Then lastly, add in the vanilla. Mix until completely blended.Chill the frosting for about one hour and then spread onto a completely cooled carrot cake. And voila, you are done and ready to serve. So if you are a lover of carrot cake you have to try this recipe, it will be one of your new favorites...and that is a Rozlynn guarantee.